Today the weather was grim. When we got home I asked the children to take off their muddy wellies and I explained about all the little micro organisms living in the mud and how we didnt really want them smeared over the floor where the toddler plays.
They kept asking more questions, So I decided to run with it. We got a smudge of the mud from the bottom of their wellies. Got out the microscope and started to see what we could find. We found quite a few wriggly things, which of course is gross, so they were really interested,
What started of with a mud inspection turned into a bacteria investigation, and after a little bit of investigation in the Bacteria book, we were inspecting cheese, yoghurt and all kids of things.
It seriously helps the children understand why taking your shoes off, and washing your hands are important, and it filled in an afterschool gap when the park was too wet.